Weston Wamp to challenge Chuck Fleischman again

Tennessee Republican Weston Wamp, the son of ex-Rep. Zach Wamp, announced Monday that he’s launching a primary challenge against Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, triggering a rematch of their battle in 2012.

“I am going to give this thing every last ounce of blood, sweat and tears for the next six and a half months. We will start traveling the district today,” Wamp said in his announcement, according to Chattanoogan.com.

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In 2012, Fleischmann, serving his freshman term, held off a crowded field of Republican primary opponents including Wamp. The congressman received 39 percent of the vote, with Wamp, who was 25 years old at the time, coming in third with 29 percent.

According to The Chattanoogan, Wamp said in his announcement that Flesichmann is “a nice guy, but he has just gone with the flow. He has failed to live up to the standard. There’s a better alternative.”

Jordan Powell, a spokesman for Fleischmann, shrugged off the announcement.

“Of course Weston Wamp is running,” Powell said in a statement. “He comes from a family consumed with politics and is simply continuing that tradition; his announcement comes as no surprise.”

Fleischmann’s 3rd District seat spans a swath of East Tennessee. He won the seat in 2010, succeeding Weston Wamp’s father, Zach Wamp, who had vacated the seat to wage an ultimately unsuccessful run for governor.